I Was Changed For Good
by sinceresapphire
Summary: What would have happened if it was Fitz who went down the deep, dark hole instead of Mack?
1. When Something was Different

**Disclaimer: **I don't own AoS.

Note:This ignores 2x10 but I may give Skye her powers at a later point.

"Speech"

_Read and Review!_

* * *

><p>The temple team was getting ready to explore the underground city when Fitz got a bad feeling. His sense of unease increased when Coulson stated that Mack was going to be the one to go down first to check out the stability of the terrain before the others joined him. Without thinking, he spoke out.<p>

"No! Not Mack."

Everyone looked over at him. Coulson furrowed his brows.

"Someone has to go down, Fitz."

Nodding his head, the Scotsman agreed. The part he didn't agree with was the choice of who went down.

"What's the problem then, Turbo."

"Someone else should be the one to go down instead of you. You're the strongest one here so you should stay up here in case we need you pull up whoever goes down."

He wouldn't admit that the thought of putting the mechanic in potential danger was enough to make him sick to his stomach and toss up his lunch.

Coulson thought about it for a few moments and saw the sense in his words.

"Alright, someone else can go down. Are you volunteering?"

"Yes."

Simmons looked startled at his reply.

"Fitz, you can't."

"I'm the engineer so I should be the one who goes down. You know that, Simmons."

A gentle hand was placed on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"Fitz will be alright, you just have to trust him. If there was another way, he'd take it."

Bobbi tried to sound understanding but she had been a field agent for a long time so she knew that you had to take the necessary risk and send in the right person.

"Are you sure about this, Turbo?"

The two men shared a glance and the shorter one could see all of the worry and concern in the warm brown eyes he has come to know so well. He nods.

"Yeah. I know that if something happens, you'll have me out of there in no time."

Several minutes later, Fitz was hooked up to the cable once the harness was secure. He was nervous but something told him that he made the right decision in switching with Mack. If something did happen, it was better to lose the damaged person than the whole person. The other man was a great asset to the team and an even better friend, so the Scot trusted him to protect and take care of his team in his stead. He would never regret the path he has taken.

"You don't have to do this, Fitz. We can send down Mack like originally planned."

Jemma was worried about her best friend and that he didn't think this through.

"No, it has to be me." He sounded so sure the rest of the team looked at him from where they were finishing the prep for his descent.

"Alright, the first sign of trouble you yell up. Promise me, Turbo."

The look in Mack's eyes was so strong that he felt frozen in his spot.

"Of course Mack. You have nothing to worry about."

His right middle finger was crossed over for his pointer finger in his pocket. Somehow, he didn't feel like he was going to make it back to the bus but he wasn't going to worry any of the others. They've done enough worrying about him.

Standing at the edge, he took a deep breath. There was no going back.

Down he went, slowly but smoothly.

The lack of light was disconcerting. His mind couldn't help flashing back to the cube right after the water started rushing in.

Then he started falling faster as the team lost control of the pulley system.

Fitz landed with a thud as he had fallen the last fifteen feet thanks to his own weight and gravity working together against him.

"Fitz! Are you alright? Answer me, Fitz!"

Simmons kept screaming down to her best friend, not sure if he was conscious or not because she couldn't see him.

The seconds ticked by and the longer that they went without hearing anything; the more nervous Mack started to feel. Hadn't Turbo been through enough already? Why did he agree to switch with him?

Coulson and Bobbi met each other's gaze then nodded before returning their attention to the other pair in order to keep an eye on them.

It took him a few minutes to get his bearings before Fitz could call back up to his worried team mates.

"I'm okay….just landed hard on my back."

At least, he didn't think he broke anything which was good then he rolled over onto his side, leaning on his left arm.

Suddenly, he felt like there was electricity running up his arm and it was painful. He didn't think the rush of water hurt this bad. Then he screamed out.

The scream that Fitz emitted caused the team to freeze in fear for a few moments. Then suddenly, he thought he felt himself being pulled up but the energy flowing through his body was overwhelming his senses.

Mack pulled faster than he ever pulled a rope but felt it still wasn't enough; he had to get Fitz back up here.

An arm wrapping itself around her shoulders startled Jemma and she turned her head to the left to see that the arm belonged to Coulson.

"He's going to be okay, Simmons."

"You can't say that, sir. We don't know what caused him to scream like that."

After what felt like ages, the screaming engineer was back up with them and Mack made quick work of getting him out of the harness. The engineer rolled over so he was on his hands and knees with his head bowed.

"Fitz? Are you alright?"

Simmons gently reached out to touch his shoulder.

Fitz didn't like that. Meeting her gaze, his eyes were blood red and that's all she saw before he launched himself at her; knocking her off of her feet and into the wall.

"FITZ!"

"TURBO!"

"FITZ!"

The rest of the team yelled out in shock at his actions.

The possessed man turned his attention to them then quickly punched Coulson twice so he ended up on the ground.

Bobbi and Mack met each other's eyes. This was not good. This was not their Fitz. The woman could tell her friend didn't want to hurt the engineer.


	2. When Things Got Rough

**Disclaimer: **I don't own AoS

"Speech"

_Read and Review!_

* * *

><p>Mack didn't want to hurt the engineer; he'd been through too much already so he hesitated when the man turned his attention to him.<p>

"Come on, Turbo. It's me, Mack. You don't want to hurt me and I know you didn't want to hurt the others. Come back to me."

He couldn't help begging because it was better than the alternative.

Bobbi wanted to give her friend a chance to get through to Fitz as she could see how much it meant to him even if he didn't recognize that he felt more than he thought. But she was an agent and needed to keep a level head. They needed a plan to stop him before they were all taken out permanently since there were so few of them left.

"Mack! I'm going to distract him so you can get behind him and restrain him. Then we can use an ICER to knock him out so we can get him back to the bus safely."

Nodding his head, he knew it was the only way as much as he didn't like it. He hoped the other man would forgive him.

The blonde woman grabbed a stone and threw it at the target, successfully gaining his attention.

Mack knew he only had one really good chance to do this, so he carefully moved around Coulson and Simmons, who were checking each other for injuries while keeping an eye on what the others were doing, and got into position. He just hoped no one took a tumble down the shaft.

The two friends nodded then he moved; wrapping his strong arms around the engineer tightly but not enough to hurt him.

Bobbi took out the ICER and shot Fitz, who had been struggling in the mechanic's hold.

He was out like a light.

Shifting his friend in his arms, Mack knew he'd be the only able to carry him. Though, on a good, non-injured day, he could see Coulson giving it a shot but only if he wasn't there.

"Alright, well that wasn't how I was expecting this to go. I think we need to leave and regroup. Simmons, you and Bobbi are gonna need to come up with something that will let us go down without having a repeat of this. Mack, you good there with carrying Fitz?"

Mack nodded.

"Yeah, I'm good and Turbo will be once we get back."

At least, that's what the man hoped.

Once their things were gathered up, they left the site and got into their SUV for the drive back to where they left the bus. All of them were trying to figure out how to explain what happened.

They were getting out of the jeep and Mack had Fitz back in his arms when they heard a voice.

"What the bloody hell happened out there?"

The group looked over and saw the rest of the team waiting for them, though they looked a bit banged up and Skye held an ice pack to her head.

"What happened out there? What happened here?"

Bobbi had asked the question they were all thinking, using her hands for emphasis at the end.

May decided to answer.

"Raina escaped. Your turn."

"It's a long story. Let's get Fitz settled in first as I imagine Mack's arms must be getting tired."

Coulson looked over at him.

He shrugged. Actually, he could do this all day though he'd prefer a conscious and awake Turbo to the one in his arms. Not that he'd mention that.

Carefully, the mechanic made his way the stairs as he tried to not bump Fitz' head on anything. He was followed by the team.

"Alright, I think we can put Fitz in his bed so Simmons can check him over then meet up in the lounge area. May, I need you to get us in the air. We're sitting ducks on the ground."

Mack followed Simmons down to one of the rooms then carefully laid Fitz on the bed.

"You can go join the others, Mack. This may take me awhile to check him over."

He shook his head.

"I'd prefer to stay, if you don't mind. I'll stay out here so I don't get in your way."

Simmons nodded then started to examine her best friend. The Brit was concerned about what happened to her best friend when he was down in the city.

Fifteen minutes later, Simmons removed her gloves then looked up at Mack.

"He's going to be sore when he wakes up but other than a few bumps and bruises, there's nothing physically wrong with him."

"Then why did he scream and attack us?"

"I'm not sure. I'll need to discuss this with Coulson."

She stood up and left the room but as she headed towards the lounge, she paused and looks back at Mack.

"Are you coming, Mack?"

"Nah, think I'm gonna keep Turbo company. You know, in case he wakes up and isn't in his right mind."

Simmons smiled softly and knowingly at the man before continuing on her way.

He entered the room and sat down on the floor next to the bed. Looking over his friend, he hoped that Fitz would be alright. He couldn't imagine not having him around. Chuckling lightly, he was amused how forcefully and stubbornly the other man made himself a permanent part of Mack's life.

Meanwhile in the lounge, the rest of the team was gathered to discuss what happened in the underground city.

"So wait, you're saying that Fitz didn't want Mack going down the shaft, so he volunteered. Then something went wrong with the cable system which caused him to fall down the last fifteen feet and hurt himself. It was dark down there, so you guys couldn't see anything so you have no idea what happened that caused him to scream. So when you guys got him back up, he attacked you and had to be knocked out with an ICER. Did I sum it up correctly?"

The summary given by Skye was correct and both Coulson and Bobbi nodded.

"That's right. Hopefully, Simmons will have some answers for us and Fitz will be back to normal."

Coulson sighed. It was his fault for letting Fitz go down there when it should have been him or Bobbi. He'd been right about not sending Mack down.

"If its answers you want, I'm afraid that I don't have many. Physically, Fitz is fine other than the odd scrape and his back will be sore from his fall. Other than that, I haven't the faintest idea why he attacked us."

Her worry seeped into her words.

"Looks like we need to get back to the Playground."

Coulson looked around and realized they were missing someone.

"Where's Mack?"

"He wanted to stay with Fitz in case something happened."

The Director looked thoughtful but didn't say anything.


	3. When Two Steps Backward were Taken

**Disclaimer: **I don't own AoS

* * *

><p>Three days had passed since the trouble at San Juan and Fitz had awakened half an hour after being brought to the Bus. It had been a rough couple days for the engineer and the rest of the team. They decided to not push Fitz for his side of what happened. Eventually, he told them the details. Though, they weren't anywhere close to finding out what caused it.<p>

Now, all Fitz wanted was to return to normal, or rather, his new normal. People didn't seem to get the memo and it was like the early days of adjusting to his condition after leaving the hospital.

"Seriously? Don't people have anything better to do than stare?" He muttered under his breath.

The engineer walked into the lab ready to get back to work.

As Fitz attempted to work on one of the projects that needed to be completed in a timely fashion, he found that he couldn't focus on it. Sensing the other scientists staring at him like he was going to Hulk out, was annoying and it hurt.

Letting out a sigh, he tried to ignore them.

"What was with that heavy sigh, Turbo?"

Mack's arrival startled him and he dropped the device he had been working on.

"_Great….just, great._ Thanks, Mack. I really needed that."

Focusing on cleaning up the mess, he missed the look on his friend's face at the tone he used.

"You gonna answer my question?"

The mechanic leaned against a table of the way.

"Everyone staring at me and treating me like glass again and that sucks."

Fitz huffed as he threw the last of parts into a box.

"Hey man, they're just concerned about you. I am too."

He approached the Scotsman and placed a hand on his shoulder but couldn't help frowning when Fitz shrugged it off.

"I don't _need anyone's concern_."

Fitz spun around and hit the table with his hand.

"_I'm fine. Why doesn't anyone get that? Why can't they leave me alone?"_

"Okay Fitz, you know what…You want to be alone? Then I'm going back to the garage. When you come to your senses and realize being someone's friend means being concerned about them when something traumatic happens to them, come see me; but until then, don't."

As he watched Mack walk away, he realized two things: one, that the other man called him Fitz and not Turbo and two, he managed to hurt his biggest supporter. The realizations caused him to fall into his chair and put his head in his hands.

Several hours had passed when Fitz realized what time it was. He looked over his work and saved anything that needed to be then decided to head to the kitchen for something to eat. As he walked, it occurred to him that none of the team had come by the lab after Mack left. Fitz reached the doorway to the kitchen when he heard voices laughing.

"Oh come on, Mack. There's no way Hunter would have been that stupid."

Hearing Skye address Mack caused the engineer to freeze and bite his lip nervously. He turned around and headed in the direction of his room before anyone saw him. There was no way that he was going in there.

At least one thing worked out for him…..Fitz made it to his room without running into anyone.

"You really put your foot in it this time, Leo. What the hell's your next move?"

Letting out a sigh, he changed out of his clothes and into his sleepwear, suddenly not hungry anymore.

Since he met Mack and the other man showed that he cared about the engineer, Fitz had been worried that he'd disappoint him. But now, he's done worse…._he hurt him._ He wanted to go apologize and get things back to normal but something told him, things wouldn't ever go back to how they were between the two men and it scared him. So, he took the coward's way by hiding in his room. Though, Fitz wasn't sure he'd be able to find the words for how he was feeling anyways.

He sets his alarm earlier than usual so he can grab something to eat before heading into the lab then falls into an unrestful sleep; the sound of Mack calling him Fitz instead of Turbo, echoing in his head and breaking his heart.


	4. When Emotions got the Better of Him

**Disclaimer: I don't own AoS**

The blaring sound of his alarm going off, startled Fitz and brought him out of the dream he was having that involved him, his favorite mechanic and whipped cream. He looked at the time and was confused for a few moments before the events of the day before came back to him. Groaning, he climbed out of bed then went to take a shower.

Half an hour later, Fitz was heading to the kitchen area for breakfast. It was useful knowing the schedules of everyone who might interrupt him this morning.

He made himself toast, eggs and a bowl of cereal to make up for skipping dinner the night before. While he ate, he kept an eye on the clock so he can get to the lab and lost in work before anyone could bother him. Though, if yesterday was any indication, he may have a quiet day.

Once his dishes were done and put away, Fitz headed to the lab.

"This is a surprise, Fitz. What are you doing up so early?"

The engineer turned around and saw Coulson standing near the entrance to the lab.

"Oh, well, I had some things that I wanted to check on before I got started on the day's work."

Coulson frowned slightly as if he didn't completely buy it.

"Well, you were missed at dinner last night."

"Mmm….got caught up in something I was working on last night."

"Your projects are important, Fitz but don't forget to take care of yourself too."

"Thanks sir. I will..keep that in mind."

"Good. I will see you later."

As he watched Coulson leave, Fitz couldn't help thinking about what Mack said the day before. Letting out a sigh, he turned to his workspace and settled in for a busy day ahead.

By the time Simmons joined him in the lab, the engineer had already put in ninety minutes of work.

"Good morning, Fitz. I see you're already hard at work."

"Hello Simmons. Some of this couldn't keep so I had to get to it as soon as I could."

As he was focused on the work in front of him, he didn't notice the look his best friend was giving him.

"Indeed, I know what that is like when I've had time sensitive experiments."

The conversation tailed off as the scientist got started on her own work for the day as she hoped to finish a few things if they didn't get called to go out on a mission.

Over the next couple hours as they worked, Simmons kept an eye on Fitz when it came to the time when Mack usually came to see his friend for the first time in the day but didn't this time, she saw him bite his lip as his shoulders sagged. The engineer was clearly feeling guilty about whatever happened between the pair.

"Fitz, I'm going to make some tea. Would you like some?"

The small smile she got from him made her feel slightly better and she left to get them their tea.

Once Simmons had left, Fitz let himself feel the full brunt of emotions that were bubbling up inside of him. He missed Mack and wanted to make things right but he couldn't help thinking that the mechanic was better off without him.

Taking a deep breath and blinking away the tears, Fitz gathered himself as he knew it wouldn't take Simmons long to make the tea.

The engineer didn't notice Coulson watching him from the doorway for a few moments.

When Simmons returned, Fitz gave her a grateful smile before taking a sip.

The short break was exactly what he needed and she knew that.

As the pair worked on a sensitive project, they ended up having lunch in the lab. In fact, they barely surfaced all day from the lab then Simmons dragged her best friend to the kitchen for some dinner.

Fitz felt himself relax as he enjoyed the meal with Simmons and Skye.

The relaxed feeling went away when he heard Mack approaching with Trip so he decided to make himself scarce since he still hadn't figured out what to say and how to say.

The one time he wanted Mack's help to find a word, he couldn't.

At least Fitz was done eating, so neither woman was concerned when he left.

Knowing the team would be eating, he decided he wanted to go on a walk and clear his head outside of the base.

It was a challenge to get outside but he managed.

Then he started walking off in a random direction, not noticing how dark it was getting.

Fifteen minutes later, Fitz realized that he was lost and without a phone. Sighing dramatically, he sat down on a bench.

"Does Coulson know you're out here alone?"


	5. When Unexpected Conversation Matters

**Disclaimer: **I don't own AoS.

Footsteps approached from behind.

"Better be careful, you never know what could be hiding in the shadows."

At the sound of a familiar voice, Fitz froze on the bench. Even though, it's been awhile, he could never forget Ward's voice.

In the dim light of the streetlight, Fitz looked at his former teammate.

"What….what….what are you doing here, Ward?"

Ward walked towards him, staring intently as if trying to figure out a puzzle.

"I was just in the neighborhood, thought that I'd drop in and visit some old friends."

Standing up from the bench, Fitz moved around it as he tried to put some space between him and Ward.

Ward frowned as he watched Fitz move.

"What are you doing out here at this time of night anyways, Fitz?"

He would have thought Coulson would have an eye on all of his people nowadays.

Fidgeting with the bottom of his sweater, Fitz didn't know how to answer that question especially coming from Ward.

"I…I have my reasons. Why do you care?"

This was dangerous territory and they both knew it.

Ward sighed.

"I know you don't trust me, don't believe me but I can tell something is off. You're different, Fitz."

"It's your fault."

Trying to not react to the anger, Ward continued on.

"Mmm….no. It's something else. Something familiar that's hanging on the edge of my memory."

Fitz pushed his curiosity down.

"I don't care."

Crossing his arms and looking away, he didn't notice Ward pulling out a phone and sending a text message.

"You know, if I can tell something is off then you can bet the people around you have noticed especially Coulson."

"Yeah well, his observational skills aren't as great as people would make them out to be."

"This doesn't sound like you, Fitz. This anger….frustration isn't normal."

Fitz spun around and glared at him.

"What do you know?"

"I know you."

Fitz didn't want to admit it but maybe, just maybe, Ward had a point.

"You should go back. It isn't safe for you to be out here."

Before Fitz could respond, he heard a car driving down the road and he turned to look for a moment. Then he returned his gaze to where Ward was standing but noticed that he was gone.

The car came to a stop next to the curb and the window rolled to reveal Coulson inside.

"What the hell were you thinking, Fitz? Leaving the base alone? Get in, we're going back."

Not in the mood to argue, Fitz did as he was told.

Coulson looked him over.

"How did you know?"

"Ward sent me a message. "

Of course he did."

Fitz rolled his eyes before looking out the window.

Several silent minutes passed.

"So I've noticed that Mack has been spending a lot of time in the garage the last couple days…."

"Of course he has, that's his space."

The words sounded forced, even to Fitz' ears.

"Care to tell me why you felt the need to leave the base and not tell anyone?"

Slumping in his seat, Fitz was hit by the guilt he had been fighting.

"Needed air….to think….."

"Think about what's going on with you and Mack?"

Fitz bit his lip as he looked over at Coulson.

"I may have done something, said something stupid to him that I didn't mean."

Coulson just stared at him.

"Alright, so I did."

Admitting that he did something stupid was a hard pill to swallow for Fitz.

"People in the lab were treatin' me like they did when I first got to the base after what happened to me. They stared at me like I was the Hulk and that hurt. I just wasn't thinking. Mack came in at the wrong time and took the blunt of it."

Now that he told someone, Fitz felt a little better, no longer drowning but still treading water.

"He told me to not talk to him until I realized that friends have every right to be concerned when somethin' traumatic happens or something along those lines."

"Then tell him what you told me. Mack will listen to you, he always has. This time won't be any different."

Fitz sighed, hoping it would be that easy.

Hearing the sigh, Coulson decided to make a confession.

"Fitz, you have to decide if sacrificing what you have with Mack for your pride is worth it. When I didn't trust May, that wasn't my concern for the team talking, that was my pride and ego. It was when she left that I realized that I was wrong, that my pride wasn't worth it. I'm just lucky things worked out."

The thought of losing Mack, the one person who believed in him when the others treated him like glass, felt like a stab to his gut and Fitz didn't like it.

The moments that he shared with Mack that made him feel like himself again flashed through his mind.

No, Fitz realized, he couldn't sacrifice his friendship for his pride.

He tried to ignore the warm sensation when his mind brought up the images of Mack smiling down at and touching him.

Fitz had been feeling cold since the fight with Mack.


End file.
